


Balancing A Tripod

by NestingHedwig_aka_LinW



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Animal Abuse, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 11:12:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7637824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NestingHedwig_aka_LinW/pseuds/NestingHedwig_aka_LinW
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Ficklet using the following words:<br/>Thing/Place/Action: Three-Legged Cat, Balcony, Reclining</p>
            </blockquote>





	Balancing A Tripod

**Balancing A Tripod**  
~*~*~*~

Severus Snape rapped on the thick oak door leading to Professor Potter’s personal chambers. He bit back a curse as the door opened automatically; it had been left slightly ajar. Savior or not, the fool still had no sense of self preservation.

“Potter?”

“Balcony,” Harry’s voice answered.

Severus closed the outer door with a deliberate thump, striding through the sitting room to the balcony doors. Harry was reclining on an ancient wicker chaise, hands cradling a tiny bundle.

The Potion Master identified the blanket wrapped bundle to be a newborn animal, eyes still shut. It gave a plaintive cry and he realized it was a kitten. Harry teased its tongue with an eyedropper filled with a thick milky liquid.

“Mrs. Norris had her litter yesterday.” Harry gestured for Severus to sit in a matching wicker chair, eyedropper still in hand. He refilled it with more milk and tried to get the tiny feline to suckle. “Filch was jealous – wanted nothing to do with them. A Hufflepuff firstie saw him throw a bag of kittens into the lake and dove in after them. Hagrid rescued both the Hufflepuff and the kittens from grindylows.”

Harry wiped the milk from the kitten’s face once it stopped feeding. It hung limply in his hand.

“Mrs. Norris and her surviving kittens are staying with Minerva, Poppy is keeping the Hufflepuff overnight for observation, and I am attempting to get Tripod to eat.”

Tripod? What an unusual name, Severus thought. 

“And Filch?”

“Unpaid leave of absence. Minerva was angry enough to spit and it was all I could do to prevent Hagrid from chucking that miserable man into the middle of a nest of acromantulas.”

Harry summoned a small box and set it on his lap. It contained a hot water bottle and soft toweling.

Severus indicated the little feline. “Is it the runt? Mrs. Norris rejected it?”

“No.” Harry held out the kitten for Severus to take. For the first time, he could see bandages wrapped around the tiny body. “She was attacked by the grindylows. One of the others died.”

Severus gently held the kitten while Harry prepared her nest, making sure the hot water bottle was covered completely with toweling.

“They bit off her leg?” he asked and Harry nodded. “She’s a three-legged cat.”

“Minerva says if she survives the next few days, she’ll be strong enough to return to her mum.” Harry tucked the sleeping kitten into the box, covering her for warmth.

“Wouldn’t it be more humane to let her go?” Severus asked softly. He could see his fellow professor growing attached to the injured furball.

“It would be cruel not to try. Animals adapt to missing limbs all the time. Tripod will adjust. She won’t even realize she’s lost a limb; this is all she’ll ever know.”

Harry’s hand rested on the little lump, a pensive smile on his face.

“Tripod will be just fine,” he stated.

And she was.

**Author's Note:**

> Notes/Disclaimers: This story is based on characters created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including, but not limited to Scholastic Books and Warner Bros. no copyright or trademark infringement is intended; no monetary gain will be made from this story.


End file.
